The Ghost Problem
In Chinese folk belief, ghosts are not rare. They are everywhere — in old houses, at crossroads, near water, in hospitals, at accident sites. Most are harmless. Some are not. And when a ghost becomes a problem, you need to know who to call.
The answer depends on the type of ghost, the severity of the haunting, and your budget.
The Daoist Priest (道士)
The Daoist priest is the professional exorcist of Chinese culture. His tools include:
Talismans (符, fú) — Yellow paper inscribed with red cinnabar characters in a specialized script. The talisman is either burned (sending its power to the spirit world), pasted on a surface (creating a barrier), or carried on the person (providing protection). The characters are not standard Chinese — they are a ritual script that only trained priests can write.
The Peachwood Sword (桃木剑) — Peachwood is considered the most effective material against ghosts. A peachwood sword does not need to be sharp — its material is the weapon, not its edge.
Incantations (咒语) — Spoken formulas that invoke divine authority. The priest is not speaking in his own name — he is channeling the power of celestial deities to command the ghost.
The Bagua Mirror (八卦镜) — An octagonal mirror inscribed with the eight trigrams. Hung above a door, it reflects negative energy back at its source. This is both an exorcism tool and a feng shui device.
The Buddhist Monk (和尚)
Buddhist exorcism takes a different approach. Rather than commanding the ghost to leave, the monk attempts to liberate it — to help the ghost understand its situation and move on to its next reincarnation.
The primary tool is chanting — specifically, the recitation of sutras that explain the nature of suffering and the path to release. The monk is not fighting the ghost. He is teaching it.
This approach reflects a fundamental philosophical difference. Daoist exorcism treats the ghost as an enemy to be defeated. Buddhist exorcism treats the ghost as a suffering being to be helped.
The Spirit Medium (灵媒)
Spirit mediums operate outside the formal religious structures. They claim to communicate directly with ghosts — to hear their grievances, understand their needs, and negotiate solutions.
A typical spirit medium session involves the medium entering a trance state, speaking in the voice of the ghost, and relaying the ghost's demands to the living. Common demands include: proper burial, resolution of unfinished business, offerings of food and spirit money, and apologies for wrongs committed against the ghost during its lifetime.
Folk Methods
Ordinary people who cannot afford a priest or monk have their own methods:
Roosters — The crow of a rooster at dawn is believed to dispel ghosts. Keeping a rooster near a haunted area is a folk remedy.
Glutinous rice (糯米) — Believed to absorb negative energy. Scattering glutinous rice around a haunted area or placing it on a corpse prevents ghostly activity. This belief appears in numerous Chinese horror films.
Burning spirit money (烧纸钱) — Sometimes a ghost is causing trouble simply because it is poor. Burning spirit money provides the ghost with funds in the afterlife, which may resolve the haunting.
The Modern Persistence
Exorcism practices persist in modern China, particularly in rural areas and among older generations. Urban Chinese are more likely to consult a feng shui master than a Daoist priest, but the underlying logic is the same: the invisible world affects the visible one, and specialists exist who can mediate between them.